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Who Are These Guys?
Tampa's Underground Airline
Anthony Mendola
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Price: $22.95
Hard Cover | 320 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9799756-0-8 |
Summary
Who Are These Guys, is a unique true crime novel with each chapter reading like a mini novel. Each chapter is a story in itself. It is about a young, ambitious, Angelo Bedami, head of a crew, whose ancestry stems from Sicily and has taken root in Tampa, Florida. Joe Bedami Sr., Angelo’s father, a prominent member of the Tampa community, owned at least five legitimate businesses. He paid his taxes, and made employment possible for honest citizens so that they in turn could support their families. He was Angelo’s mentor. On the dark side, Joe Bedami Sr., was a made member of the Trafficante family. He was "the" enforcer. In August of 1968, Joe Bedami Sr. disappeared and was presumed murdered. That’s when Angelo took over the responsibilities of supporting his family and true to form he did it by the book, his father's book. Only Angelo’s way of earning a living wasn’t by enforcing, as was his father's way. Angelo’s interest laid in drug smuggling-large scale drug smuggling. Not supplying neighborhoods, but states and countries. Angelo created clandestine airstrips which were referred to as underground terminals throughout the state of Florida. A few of these terminals were located on the ranches of well known members of the community, such as: Kellogg and Kellogg, Johnson and Johnson, and the ranch of the governor at that time, Governor Graham, now State Senator. Planes landing at these terminals ranged from, DC-4s to Cessnas. Once, Angelo actually purchased from General Noriega himself, a Convair paid in cash. Fifty thousand dollars that found its way into Noriaga’s cache. Angelo was doing a fine job of supporting his family. Surprisingly he forbade violence. Once a buyer owed him a hundred thousand dollars. When asked by an associate what he was going to do about it , Angelo, said, "nothing". He didn’t want a scared enemy around who would eventually run to the cops and blow his whole operation. Instead he stole a Convair from this potential rat, had his boys’ pick up a load in South America and brought back 15 thousand pounds of pot. He figured that covered the hundred thousand dollar loss. Once, two of Angelo’s pilots were fished out of the Atlantic ocean after dropping a load of drugs and dumping the plane in the water. As a matter of fact, it was the Convair stolen by Angelo. During interrogation one of the pilots wouldn’t talk, the other wouldn’t shut up. The one who wouldn’t shut up actually had nothing to say. He was in the dark. He didn’t know where he took off from, didn’t know where he landed to pick up the load, and didn’t even know where it was unloaded. Two baffled customs agents were overheard, one saying to the other, "who are these guys?" Hence, the title.
About the Author
Anthony Mendola was born and raised in the heart of New York City. His education began on the streets of the Lower East Side, Little Italy, and Hells Kitchen. His alma mater was federal prison where he spent ten years figuring out what went wrong and what he was going to do about it. He took some college courses but it wasn’t long before the government discontinued this aspect of rehabilitation. With time on his hands, Anthony engaged in a lot of reading. It took him away from where he was, at least for a while. Talking about a book he was interested in with his sister Carol, she said, "You do so much reading, why not write a book." "Impossible," Anthony said. For the next few months he analyzed everything he read, trying to figure out how the author structured the story, then he gave it a shot. Six months later his first novel, "Mortal Acquaintance" was finished and shortly after, it was published. Anthony has written several novels and is also a published poet. He was introduced to Jerry Blair, one of the characters in "Who Are These Guys", Anthony’s latest novel, a true crime story. Jerry has walked Anthony through this exciting, humorous novel, introducing him to all the players and setting up interviews. After three years of painstaking work, "Who Are These Guys" is ready for publication. Anthony Mendola now resides in Tampa, Florida where he continues the story.
